Hydraulic systems are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and are being used to yield ever increasing power and benefits. This increase in sophistication and output, however, has required an increase in the level and performance of these systems. Previous performance gains generally required increasing the amount of fluid flow or allowing increased pressures. These increases sometimes led to failure resulting from cavitation damage.
Cavitation may damage main control valves. Cavitation is a phenomenon that occurs when the speed or velocity of a fluid increases such that the pressure in the system drops below the vapor pressure of the liquid. The fissures that are created are voids of intense energy. When these fissures contact the surface of a valve or other component, cavitation damage may occur. For example, the cavitation damage may cause failure of a main control valve, resulting in potential downtime of equipment, as well as warranty exposure and negative commercial effects for the manufacturer.
Previously, valve designs were tested and analyzed iteratively. Variables were tested one at a time and determined either through experience or engineered guesses. Design solutions were not tested over multiple variables, and further, many hundred man-hours of resources were expended. Even when experiments were designed to include multiple variables, cavitation was still unable to be measured and analyzed. This inability to measure and analyze cavitation prohibited the ability to predict damage and, further, to account for possible cavitation effects in valve design.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems or disadvantages associated with the prior art.